That includes practice areas such as corporate, community and government relations, crisis management, social media and media relations.

“PR is still at the core of what we do,” Parks said.

“Communications [in the name] widens the understanding of what we do,” said Landis.

B2, for Bayview 2.0, also is geographically neutral.

The name change coincides with the firm’s growth into Georgia and Alabama from its base of clients in Tampa Bay.

Parks, a former newspaper journalist, moved into corporate communications with Walter Industries Inc. [now Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT)] more than 10 years ago. MacFarlane and Landis also had extensive experience in marketing, public relations, and strategic planning prior to creating Bayview.

The startup avoided debt by relying on cash flow from existing clients. It kept overhead to a minimum. The new company developed a network of other public relations and marketing partners to expand its pallet of services.

“In this tough economy, I’ve seen more and more small- and mid-sized agencies and independent practitioners partnering and hiring subcontractors rather than full-time staff, to keep overhead low and offer more competitive rates,” said Noelle Anderson, principal of True Blue Communications and one of B2’s regular partners. She is also president of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.